Canvas2 – 23

Summary:
Hiroki immediately gets a phone call from Kiri after him and Elis return home from the hospital. Seeing her brother occupied, Elis decides to go out to buy some paint. She runs into Takeuchi at the art store, and Takeuchi gives her a bit of a pep talk about how she should be serious about painting. On her way home, Elis notices the red sunset and realizes how much she wants to draw. The next day, Hiroki watches as Elis and her friends come to school, and Kiri notices that something is bothering him. Elis later thanks Takeuchi for giving her the resolution to make her decision: she’s going to France. Hiroki ends up learning the news from the director, who gives him an official form that needs to be fixed because Elis forgot to fill something in. When she comments on how lonely it’ll be with Elis gone, Hiroki responds by saying that it’s ok because it’s for the sake of her studying abroad. At home, Hiroki finds Elis asleep with a French language book beside her. She wakes up and tells him that she’s going to spend Christmas with her obaa-chan in France to get to meet with her and to look for a place to stay. Also, she’ll be at Tomoko’s house on Christmas Eve. Hiroki thinks that she’s already begun walking her own path. Elis then switches the topic to Kiri and says that she thinks Kiri is a good match for Hiroki.
At school, Sumire approaches Hiroki to ask about her reward again, but Hiroki still thinks that he’s unable to draw. In the spring, he’ll be graduating from college and becoming a teacher. Sumire asks if it’s really ok for it to remain this way even as Elis is going to France, but Hiroki thinks that Elis is moving forward faster than him. Sumire responds by saying that both of he and Elis are lying. In the hospital, Tomoko tells Elis that she’ll leaving to have her surgery the same day that Elis leaves for France. Tomoko wants them to move forward together. Meanwhile, Hiroki is talking with Kana while she’s writing her next story, featuring, for the first time, a male main character. It seems awfully similar to Hiroki’s own life, but before Kana can tell Hiroki how it ends, her editor calls her away. Hiroki is later shopping around when he gets a call from Kiri telling him that she’s bought his Christmas present. Kiri had earlier wanted to call off their Christmas plans so that Hiroki could be with Elis, and so now Hiroki suggests that they stay together somewhere overnight. He then heads to the jewelry store and buys a pair of a heart shaped earrings for his “girlfriend.” At home, Elis is staring at a blank canvas. This time, she’s actually able to squeeze the red paint out of the tube.
On the day of the Christmas party, Hiroki wakes up the sound of Elis’ voice. Not only is she already up, but she’s also prepared breakfast for him (at the expense of her own sleep). While walking to school, Elis says that she’ll never forget the seasons she spent with her brother. Hiroki thinks that it sounds a bit too much like they’re going to be separated for eternity, to which Elis responds that it’s not for eternity, but they are being separated. Elis then starts to say something about tonight, but she gets cut off by Kiri’s arrival. Kiri offers to come see her off tomorrow, but Elis says that she doesn’t want to hinder Kiri and Hiroki being together. During the Christmas party, Kana comes up to Hiroki to discuss her story. Apparently her main character is meek and ends up becoming very regretful. Although she hasn’t decided the conclusion, Kana does tell Hiroki that this is only for her novel. Hiroki has to write his own ending; Kana can’t do that for him. Behind the scenes, Sumire is getting ready for her performance when Elis approaches her. Sumire tells Elis that she won’t regret it even if she fails; for the sake of today, Sumire practices her hardest. She also tells Elis not to have any regrets. After Sumire leaves, Tomoko shows up and suggests that they go to the airport tomorrow together. However, Elis seems to be feeling better and thinks that they should just meet there. Elis then clears Tomoko’s doubts about still being around when the next Christmas comes around. The two promise to meet in Paris during Christmas of the next year. Everyone eventually gathers in the party hall and Sumire starts to perform her solo part.

I enjoyed this episode for all of the little things, like Kana and Sumire trying to lead Hiroki in the “right’ direction, Elis moving forward with her life, getting closer to using the red paint in a painting, and Tomoko’s friendship with Elis. But, as many people have said, I think the main thing that’s missing from this next to last episode is a big plot twist. Everything’s been decided in terms of relationships and there isn’t much to get in the way of Hiroki and Kiri’s relationship, unlike Asa’s disease in SHUFFLE! or Aisia’s meddling in DCSS. Really the only thing left is for Hiroki to start drawing again.
So with only one episode left, I’m predicting that Hiroki will end up with Kiri as his love, but will start painting again because of Elis (maybe his painting will be of Elis). Those guesses aren’t too hard to make based on what’s been happening up to now, and I don’t really think that they’re going to pull any big surprises. Anyway, onward to the final episode!

So it’s clear: Hiroki x Kiri.
I hoped for Hiroki x Elis, but i thought it will end that way.(after all that things which happened between these two)
So last episode will be just showing what everybody is doing I guess. Hmm, but it’s not really creative with this “earrings for his girlfriend” . It’s obvious they are for Kiri and they still try to hide who is the person Hiroki likes.. Ara Ara..
Or will we get a surprising end? Let’s see^^

Man, what a reverse of things, back when DCSS, everyone wanted Nemu to die, and for Kotori to win (I’m still sad about that…) but now in Canvas 2, a lot of people seem to want a crazy ending in which Elis gets Hiroki (I’m also hoping that that)

I found Hagino’s typing on the keyboard while she was talking to Hiroki was… interesting.. switching between the names as she’s trying to find out Hiroki’s feelings. And then Shie walks in, but says nothing to Hiroki – which was kind of surprising, since she was willing to butt in before.

Anyway, not bad, but the vibe from these last few episodes, it’s all focused on Elis (heck one could say the main character of the whole series was Elis, which is certainly an interesting aspect to a show based off an h-game, to have it focused on a female lead instead of a male lead). I’m probably missing a whole lot with my crummy Japanese language skills, and I know Hiroki talked about painting again in this episode with Misaki, but his painting (or lack thereof) has been sooo in the background, kind of the “B” plot to Elis’s issues, that it’s going to be weird to see why or how he decides to paint again next episode… Which, according to the next episode description on the website, he will do. With the heavy focus on Elis, it seems like it’d only be natural that he’ll end up painting Elis (why focus on Elis so much, while sticking the painting as a “B” plot if he doesn’t end up painting her), even if he still stays with Kiri. Which would be quite unusual.

This is the crappiest twisted bullsh*t I’ve ever seen! They didn’t show how Hiroki actually got back to painting, and that was the most heart warming moment in the game, and they are going to send Elise off to France just like that?! And Hiroki gets earring for Kiri?! Oh come on!

This anime had countless plot twists, but I hoped at least they would show how much work was put into Hiroki’s painting of Elise.

This episode reveals the Hiroki’s unconscious affection towards Elis, particularly the part where he recalls their night in the hospital. I still have a hunch that it’s going to be an Elis ending. Why reveal such hesitation in Hiroki if there won’t be a prospective twist? :)

I’m trying not to prejudge the ending before I actually see it, but I do agree with you on one thing, Rasmiel, the lead up to Hiroki painting again has not been there in this series like it was with the game. At least not yet. They’re leaving way too much to the last episode, it feels. I’m not sure how satisfying that will be. It might be fine. But, for example, if they switch to ElisxHiroki on the last episode (and they drop occasional hints), unless the writing is better than I think, it’s going to be kind of annoying that Hiroki would’ve lead Kiri on during these last episodes. One episode to dump Kiri and switch to Elis is going to be a pretty drastic transition, I would think. We’ll see.

Man, what a reverse of things, back when DCSS, everyone wanted Nemu to die, and for Kotori to win (I’m still sad about that…) but now in Canvas 2, a lot of people seem to want a crazy ending in which Elis gets Hiroki (I’m also hoping that that)

Elis is a better person, of course everyone would love her more :p

Both ways, I am also an Elis fan, but I never cared whether she won or not. I’m glad that Kiri and Hiroki are finally together and I believe they belong together, and I’m glad with the focus on Elis during the whole series.

That said, I’m a little disappointed with this episode. I dunno, I think it lacks…something, but I can’t quite say what it is.

Ale, you’re right about 1 thing; “Elis is a better person, of course everyone would love her more :p”

Shana, you’re like a “crusader of hope”, still trying to hold onto the possiblitiy of an Elis ending. Well, seeing the episode as opposed to just the screencaps. I think Hiroki really is having second thoughts on his decision. Also, I don’t understand japanese, but did Hiroki turn down a date from Kiri?

HIROKI! FOR THE LOVE OF GOD! FATHERHOOD LASTS A LIFETIME, MAKE THE RIGHT CHOICE!
(don’t pay too much attention to the above statement of mine)

animes like that and DC should’nt call themselves Harem!!
it’s a stupid love story!!
look at Shuffle?! PERFECT harem ending!! never seen one of those on another Harem anime!!
(if you know any, plz tell me without spoiling)

hope Soul Link will be as good as Shuffle on that part…

It’s stupid for the hero the end with the heroine!
(and I still want Nemu to die!! akk!!!)

That’s only in the game. And Hiroki draws the picture BEFORE Elise decides to go to France. Elise decides to go BECAUSE of that drawing. But now that Elise decided to go without that event, the possibility of the anime still going that way is VERY slim.

Ale:
You’re baiting me with the “Elis is a better person” comment. But I beat to death my opinion on that in the Episode 22 discussion. It’s definitely all relative.
I’ll throw out my own baiting comment though. I find it odd that those that hate Nemu would like Elis, since they’re sooo similar.

Maybe the picture you saw, ZmmCool, was a picture from the Elis Character CD (which has Elis in a red dress, which is the same dress used in the painting done in the Elis path of the game)? That CD was similar to how they used style of Kiri for the Kiri Character CD from the painting of Kiri from the end game. Anyway, ever since they showed the Kiri end-game picture in episode 13, I’ve always thought the end-of-anime picture would be Elis. Not sure of the significance that choice will be in the anime though. It doesn’t feel like it’ll be as significant as it was in the game.

Here’s another aside. Shuffle’s ending being a “harem” ending would be the same as calling DC a harem ending. I know they threw in a lot of fanservice in the tale end of ep 24 (with creepy Primula lolipedo fan service, ‘natch). But like DC, the male lead picks one girl, but the rest keep holding out anyway. Lame. Double lame. Time only moves in one direction, you know? That’s just my opinion. I could be wrong.

You’re baiting me with the “Elis is a better person” comment. But I beat to death my opinion on that in the Episode 22 discussion. It’s definitely all relative.
I’ll throw out my own baiting comment though. I find it odd that those that hate Nemu would like Elis, since they’re sooo similar.

O’course, it’s all a matter of opinion. I think Elis is a better person but other people think differently. And they do have their similarities, but I think they have enough differences for me to love Elis and hate Nemu.

There’s no doubt in my mind that it’s going to be a Kiri ending.. as much as I like Elis, they’ve been building up Kiri x Hiroki for awhile now. They’re not going to pull out a insane plot twist in the last episode.. at least I hope not.

For some reason I wish DCSS and Canvas 2 were switched.. Kotori and Elis FTW! >_>

I have a feeling that we’re not going to get an entirely resolved and satisfactory ending…Hiroki holding the red paint tube in the preview suggests that he’s going to paint Elis [if the story addresses that part at all] and just his utmost hesitation, particularly when Elis told him that Kiri was a good match and infuriated him. Why would he react in such a way if he entirely invested his emotions in Kiri?… :)

Geez, even after Omnicient’s great writeup which already hints at Elis letting Hiroki and Kiri be (and Hiroki inviting Kiri for an overnight stay together somewhere… ), there are those “rebels” wanting a full Elis ending. Don’t waste your time only to set yourselves up for some major frustration.

If I was into yuri though, perhaps I might imagine a ElisxTomoko thing looming (particularly with them making the pinky swear to see each other in Paris the next Christmas)? Then again, nah.

Elis doesn’t have to get the guy to “win” though. I’m the biggest Elis fan and I think she’s already “won”; look how much she’s grown and how much exposure her character had. I’m really glad with her role in this.

The best Anime ending i still say is Shuffle, I hate it why does everytime they has to pick one girl in the end, Just grab them all is the way to be, at least everyone will be happy, including the viewers XD.

Actually i am more of the Takeuchi, Tomoko, and school director fans.
If i have to pick it would be this order.
1. School Director ( sexy and mature)
2. Tomoko ( She cute and adorable)
3. Takeuchi ( she just cool)

good lord.. shuffle!s last arc was a train wreck and the last half of the last episode was a lame attempt to return to light hearted comedy and put out the hope for a polygamous ending — which only made the Kaede-Asa relationship that much more psychotic and seriously disrespected all the characters. Rin seriously jerked around several of the girls and then Asa all but trampled Kaede on her way to Rin – she even admits to Kaede she’s a monster for it. I loved what Shuffle! started out trying to be but it had serious writing problems in the last 4 or 5 episodes where Kaede just whimpered off and Asa and rin suddenly had their brains switched for oatmeal so they would suddenly make these broken illogical choices. A polygamous ending would have worked perfectly …. but thats not what was delivered.

Canvas 2, otoh, started out as a triangle at *most* and pretty rapidly it was clear that the triangle was mostly Elise’s wishful fantasies. The only real questions were whether a) Kiri and Hiroki would tie a knot b) Hiroki would draw again c) Elise would use red and go to France. … thats it. A much cleaner plotline — clean enough they actually wasted a few episodes. The other girls were helped by Hiroki through their various crises and gosh, they admired him or thought of him as a friend – fairly realistic I’d say.

I’ve only watched Shuffle once, so my memory may be off… I thought the Asa/Rin romance progressed fairly well, all things considered (certainly not the path I expected when I first started watching). But Rin was pretty oblivious to Kaede, and kind of a jerk in that last arc (Asa should shoulder some blame, I suppose, since she’s supposed to be Kaede’s friend, so she should have noticed it too – she certainly noticed it when Kaede was ill and Rin was ignoring her). But that really wasn’t out of character for him, was it? He did the same thing while he was leading Sia on in the first half, ignoring the rest. But was Shuffle really that open of an ending? It seemed more like they set up the Da Capo/DCSS situation – he was really only interested in one girl in “that way”, but the others still hang around him, blah blah blah. If you’ve seen DCSS, you know what I mean. Very similar to that last half of the last episode of Shuffle (although Shuffle ups the fanservice).

I wonder, I haven’t watched many of these types of series until recently, so there’s many I’ve never seen, but has there ever been one where the male lead actually wants and gets a harem ending (ignoring straight out hentai, which I’m sure must have that in it).

But what you described about Canvas 2 is one of the reasons why I liked it. Fairly clean, and no harem that the male lead is oblivious to. There’s nothing wrong with a harem, and most men would certainly not be opposed to the idea – It’s just annoying to watch a male lead that’s oblivious to it or won’t take advantage of it knowingly. I keep thinking of Akatsuki’s speach to Akito and Ryoko in that “tank” episode of Nadesico, about leads in anime and “Mr. Platonic Relationship”. Anyway, Hiroki didn’t appear to lead anyone on, and he wasn’t entirely oblivious. But the last few episodes of Canvas 2 have been bugging me, though… Mostly because of the lackluster buildup to Hiroki painting again, I think. Hopefully the last episode will tie things up as well as the series began.

I should qualify that I still think fairly well of Shuffle! in the category of “could have been great” but that the writing staff simply lacked the skill to deliver the milestones in a believable fashion. Having Asa trample Kaede on her way to Rin was nasty but good drama — it was the pathetic way they resolved it and left Kaede “allowed to love Rin” that broke the illusion of reality. Also, the whole rationale behind “won’t use magic so I’ll die because I don’t want to see my mother cry” ??????? The last episode tried to reset but unless Asa is convinced of the value of polygamy – I don’t see “light hearted comedy” in any OVA ahead (never mind the absolutely hideous animation in that ep).

Sorry.. I just got through rebrowsing the series while discussing some translation quibbles so its fairly fresh. Canvas 2 and REC constituted my psychological self-medication (along with some of our funnier current fansubs in progress). I loved the characters in Shuffle! and I enjoyed it all the way until they doused the powerful Kaede arc. I have a whole shelf of the figures and I think a spinoff with Mayumi and Itsuki would be quite funny.

Well, the “allowed to love Rin” thing was kind of the “runner up” prize that every girl was given in Shuffle. It was pathetic in general, not only when it happened to Kaede, but also when it applied to Sia and Nerine as well. But that’s usually the par for the course for this type of series…

Actually, this discussion and a few others earlier in the week that I read got me to rewatch Shuffle this week.

And man, Rin was a pretty big jerk to Kaede throughout the series. He was supposed to be such a “kind” guy. Although I honestly kind of always thought that his behavior was part of the fact that he’s had such a rocky relationship with her that he kind of wants to stay out of her way, subconciously at least. Asa, however… considering how understanding and perceptive Asa was towads everyone prior to episode 19, it was kind of weird that she was so oblivious to Kaede in ep 19. Blinded by love I suppose… Not much of an answer really. Just like her refusal to use her magic. I still grew to like Asa, mostly because of how she was portrayed prior to the Kaede arc, as the only person to really “get it”, so I was glad she “won”, but you’re right, she did seem to get quite out of character in episode 19. I haven’t finished rewatching the series beyond that though… but I still didn’t think the last half of episode 24 was a real reset. Maybe when I rewatch it, I’ll think different, but it seemed more like episode 24 was portraying a situation similar to how DCSS was when Nemu returned.

Getting back on topic to Canvas 2, I did notice an odd (although not as nasty) parallel between Kaede’s behavior towards Asa at the end of episode 19 and Elis’ behavior toward Kiri at the end of episode 9… Of course, how it was handled in Canvas 2 was better, I think…

Still off topic, but you know, right after I posted this, I realized you were right, even Rin was pretty out of character too, when I think about his behavior to Kaede when he went on a date with Sia compared to later. One might chock it up to his feelings to Sia compared to his feelings to Asa, but that’s probably giving the writers too much credit.

I enjoyed Canvas a lot more than Shuffle… I just hope it ends fairly well… I feel like it’s going to end very annoyingly.

Off topic, anyone heard or read the manga Ichigo 100%, all i can say is out of all these harem anime, manga that i have watch and read. This is the first time i had trouble picking out my special girl not to mention the last volume of the series surprise the hack out of me with who the main character end up with. With DC, Shuffle, Canvas, and all these harem anime i always find one girl that stick out and call it my favorite, but for Ichigo 100% all 4 girls are so special in their own ways, no matter how I try to find that special one i just can’t seem to pick one out XD. It just make me so sad in the end he had to pick one, if it were me i rather jump off a cliff then to give up on anyone of them. I highly recommend anyone to read that manga if u haven’t, is very good and funny.

For canvas I think the majority of us viewer could have just guess how they goner end this, not really that much of a surprise.